Page 24 of Kneel Before Me

A blush rose on Daphne’s cheeks. She remembered Terrance. He’d fondled her in a booth in the Horseman before fucking her in the alleyway. They hadn’t even made it to the bridge. Of course he’d told his friend he could do the same. But Daphne had thought Benjamin was different. He hadn’t touched her at the bar—he hadn’t even kissed her until now. It had almost felt like…a date. But now they were under the bridge, where Daphne always ended up, and Benjamin wanted the same thing everyone else wanted from her.

“I don’t want to do what I did with Terrance,” she said as calmly as she could. “I just want to talk.”

“I was promised free pussy. I don’t want to talk to you.”

His breath blew in her face. It smelled like ale and tobacco. Daphne fought the urge to vomit. “Well then why did you spend so much time with me?”

It was a valid question. If he’d gone the route of Terrance, this whole evening would’ve been over long ago. “You were buying.”

He was right, Daphne realized. Benjamin hadn’t bought a single drink all night. It had always been her going back to Steve to get the next round. Why hadn’t she noticed before now?

“I thought—”

“You thought wrong. It was a bet, Daphne. We bet on you. Did you know that?”

Daphne did not know that. But now she did. Now she knew the cruelty of boys, and she wondered what she had done to earn it. “What was the bet?”

She was afraid to hear the answer, but something inside her compelled her to ask, as if by knowing the truth she could protect herself from it.

Benjamin let out a harsh laugh. “We wanted to see who could get the furthest with you.”

“Well,” she whispered. “I guess you lost.”

“Only because you decided to suddenly be a prude.”

“You’re cruel.”

“And you’re pathetic. Why would I want anything else from you? Why would anyone want anything else from you? Everyone knows you’re the village slut.”

He was angry. Daphne could understand it; he’d been promised something, and he wasn’t getting it. But she hadn’t been the one to promise it. Just because he thought he was owed it didn’t mean she had to give it.

“You’re the pathetic one,” she whispered. The words were so quiet she was surprised he heard them.

But his face twisted instantly, and he spat, “Worthless slut. Useless whore.”

With each insult, her heart shattered a little more. Daphne was beginning to wonder whether it would be possible to put the pieces back together. His insults were an assault themselves.

His final jab broke her completely: “You’re nothing but a hole to fuck and a mouth to come in.”

She could think of nothing to say in return. It didn’t matter anyway; Benjamin was already standing. Without another word, he stalked off into the darkness. Daphne stared after him, tears streaming down her cheeks. This was a different kind of pain than what she was used to from boys. Benjamin hadn’t hurt her physically—he’d barely even touched her. To his very base credit, he’d stopped when she’d said no. It was his words, not his actions, that had cut her like a knife.

Daphne had been called plenty of names in her life and had moved on from them easily. For some reason, Benjamin’s had cut deeper, attacking a part of her she didn’t want to face—a vulnerable part. The part that whispered, He’s right. No one will ever love you. Why would they want to?

Daphne’s inner voice was already cruel enough; she did not need confirmation from Benjamin.

She had made a promise to herself in that moment—a promise that had already changed the course of her future. She would not be used for her body any longer. She would wait until she was in love to have a cock in her pussy again—to make sure that the person she gave herself to truly deserved it. Just because she’d been willing in the past did not mean she had to be willing going forward. It didn’t matter that the competition was happening; it didn’t matter that Kronos made her hornier than any of the stupid guys from the village. She would never be made to feel worthless again. Ever.

She’d sat by the river for a long time, her arms wrapped around her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks. By the time she was done, dawn was nearly upon her and her limbs were stiff from the cold.

She felt that same stiffness now, in the ballroom, as she stared at Benjamin. Daphne had long since stopped moving, but he was walking closer.

“Slut,” he whispered in her ear as he passed. Then he was gone.

Tears filled her eyes.

Never had something that wasn’t a physical injury pained her so. The things he’d said to her had played over and over in her mind every night since then. They were devastating insults—ones no woman deserved to hear.

The walls were closing in. Daphne had to get out of this ballroom. The air was suddenly too warm—it felt as if she were suffocating. There were too many people, too many sounds. She breathed in deep, fighting to get air in her lungs, drowning in her memories. She made her way toward the first door she saw, desperate for reprieve.